The Mora
The Mora are a non-canon Psionic culture that existed in the Star Wars universe following the reveal of the Zakuul Empire in the time of the Old Republic. History When the Zakuul invaded the known galaxy, they quarantined the Korribani, Massassi and the few remaining Ziosti on Moraband, which they renamed the planet of Korriban to, along with any Sith who refused to defect to the Zakuul Imperial Knights. The former Wrath of the Emperor, Sahesh, became the new Dark Lord of the Sith, as he was a Korribani and was quarantined on the planet regardless. Sahesh was a Revanite, and he didn't believe in the Sith Order's twisted ideals - nor did he entirely believe in abandoning them. Careful consideration lead Sahesh to reestablish the Order, changing a great many things over the following years. Through Sahesh, who was one of few existing blade-masters in the galaxy at his time, the Sith maintained access to advanced combat training, and they adapted a much more honorable but pragmatic stance on the galaxy, setting the practices of oppression aside. In retrospect, this is likely to have been what caused the survival of the Sith, by preventing infighting and slave rebellions among the thousands of people on Korriban who were not Sith, but who were merely of the wrong species at the wrong time, or believed to have too close affiliations with the Sith to roam (or simply brainwashed into loyalty). Sahesh renamed the Order into the Mora, adopting the namesake of the planet and taught his people that Zakuul was right to imprison them, because he had seen that the Sith order had fallen to a point where it could never survive, so it was necessary for them to reform, and Zakuul had wisely seen that only by being forced to change could this happen. The Mora didn't believe in slavery, but they did believe in something for something, finding it acceptable to allow people who had no other choice to become something akin to medieval serfs, in return for protection. The Mora realized that human greed and ambition would always result in conflict if humans were not somehow forced into a society with norms and measures that prevented or discouraged conflict - And the Mora believed that there was no one more qualified than themselves to be that measure, and to set those norms. The Mora were aware that the ability to utilize precognition to make wise decisions was something both the Voss and the Zakuul had done with great success, and that this was the primary and decisive factor that allowed the Mora to justify ruling over those who could not see the future. The Mora didn't really try to "rule" people however, they merely offered people a chance to serve under the Mora with dignity and respect, rather than the alternatives of Morabands inhospitable wasteland. Truly pragmatic, but resentful of direct oppression and no longer opposed to compassion, rather viewing those who can afford to be compassionate as strong and worthy, and those who cannot but do so anyway as being ultimately foolish but still honorable. While the former Sith Lords were adjusting to being the Mora, Sahesh was taking charge of the many Sith Sorcerers sent to Moraband, and he had them perform a powerful ritual that altered the very mass of the planet, making it heavier as well as willing the very (immediate) cosmos to change, and thus altering Morabands orbital path quite a bit, causing the planet to grow quite a bit colder and much more moist. In a few years, Moraband had small jungles near the poles, and great lakes forming on both northern and southern hemisphere, leaving equator as the only truly unbearably arid part of the planet. While still very warm, the planet became much less harsh to survive on. Smugglers who were hired by sympathetic former Imperials smuggled large quantites of animals down to Moraband that were believed capable of surviving on the planet, now that it had changed so drastically. The Mora patiently awaited their opportunity to leave Moraband again, and find their place among the stars. Post Scream The Scream left the Mora stranded on Moraband for centuries before they were finally discovered. In the mean time, their culture had adapted to the rural and harsh ever growing wilds and wastes on Moraband, sprouting a number of tribes. A lot of the original history of the Sith was no longer really considered important to the Mora, only really remembered by the elders and the loremasters. The Korribani quickly showed off their species ability to adapt, or perhaps their species was just so closely linked to their planet of birth that when the planet was changed forcibly through Sith Alchemy, the Korribani changed as well. The new Korribani subspecies, known as the Morabani, came to exist. Physically larger than the often lean and athletic Korribani, and somewhat more brutish looking, the Morbani were difficult to compare to their species of origin. Culture and Society Moraband can be divided into 11 regions. There are 5 regions on either hemisphere, and then there is the Equator. The hemispheres are separated by the vast and scorching warm desert of the equator, which is nearly impossible to cross without using uncommon means of transportation, making the spheres more important among each other. The only passage through the desert goes through the oasis where the former Dark Temple is located, situated by an old burnt out volcano, in the shadow of the towering mountain, just by the valley of the Dark Lords. This is also where the planets capital is. Because this is the only passage from one hemisphere to the other, it's also the most important trade-hub on the entire planet. The hemispheres are a bit isolated, and require some sort of more localized government, and therefor the regions situated at the poles of the planet are the lesser capitals, where the regions on either hemisphere are ruled from. Each region is dominated by a single Clan consisting of several different tribes which again consist of several different houses, which again consist of several different family branches. Not all tribes within the same region are necessarily of the same clan - there have been examples of a region suddenly seeing an influx of tribes from a different clan, often resulting in turmoil. Families There is usually quite a few families within a House. A family is a married couple and all their unwed children and potentially unwed siblings if the parents are dead but there are still unwed siblings. Houses There are usually only a few Houses within a tribe. A small tribe might have as few as three houses, and a larger one might have five. All families belong to a House, referred to as Houses because the most powerful family of the House tends to live in the ancestral mansion of the House. The Houses are all rooted in original Sith Noble Houses, and as such there is a fixed amount. Many current House members have no biological ties to the original founders of the Houses in question, but were adopted into a noble house somewhere along the line. The houses are no longer considered "noble", they merely are. The Houses are the true powers on Moraband, as they provide a strong premise for families to cooperate. Tribes Tribes are really more a matter of alliances. Tribes come and go, only the Houses are forever, but that said, many of the existing tribes are very old. The older tribes are what laid the base work for the Clans to exist - very old alliances between clans. Tribal Warfare is the most common scale warfare on Moraband. Clans The Clans came to exist eventually, after history proved some tribes allies and others enemies. Today, the Clans mostly function as regional leadership and few people identify with their Clans as much as they do with their House and their Tribe, but that doesn't make the clans any less important - quite the opposite. The Clans are a governmental power with roots in the ancient families of Moraband, making them incredibly powerful but also complex. Elder Each family branch is represented by an Elder who is the established head of the family, but there is no rule dictating that there must be an elder, it's merely tradition. As such there is no established way of someone becoming Elder. Often the elder can also be found to be simply the oldest who is still at wits end. The Elder has no actual function or power enforced by society, other than what they command in their family - but often the Elder can claim the title through actual power, maybe by being the most influential member of the family, or the wealthiest - many families are small so in more cases than not, the Elder is simply the breadwinner. The Elders sit on the House council for the House they belong to, if they live within the same immediate area where the House has power. Consular A consular is the appointed representative of a House within the Tribal Council, and is considered to be the head of a House. A Consular can only hold seat within the Tribal Council if the House exists within the area where the the Tribe holds power. Darth The leader of a tribe bears the title of Darth, a remnant of Sith culture - but interestingly, a Darth is no longer necessarily a psionic, but merely a title. The Darths use their tribe name as a moniker, i. e. "Darth name of Tribe". All Darths sit on their respective Clan Councils if, and only if, their tribe lives within the regions of their respective clan. Moff The leader of a clan is known as a Moff, but one cannot be a Moff without also being a Darth. Moff isn't a prefix like Darth is, but is more akin to a noble title - i. e. "Darth name of Tribe, Moff of name of Clan", though it's not uncommon to, in daily speech, use Moff as a prefix for ease of use, or simply say "The Moff". Moffs may attend the hemisphere council, where disputes between the Clans can be settled. Grand Moff The Grand Moff is the leader of the Clan that rules either of the two hemispheres. They have some overarching power over the the clans within their hemisphere, but quite surprisingly the hemisphere councils, that the Grand Moffs are heads of, mostly discuss trade in modern times. Grand Moffs are politically raised quite a bit above the common struggles of the smaller families, and concerned more about the growth of the planet and the defenses against the many common dangers on Moraband. Lord of Moraband The current Lord of Moraband is perhaps the closest link to the Sith Order that exists on Moraband. The Lord of Moraband, sometimes also referred to as the Grand Mora, is the ultimate head of Moraband, but is surprisingly not very influential. The Lord of Morband is mostly concerned with the future of the planet and the people, rarely interfering with the business of the Clans. The Lord of Moraband is also the leader of the Mora Order, which is a much greater concern of the Lord. The Mora Order The Mora train all psionics at the Mora Palace (former Dark Temple), where they are trained in use of their Psionic powers and with the lightsaber. Some Mora may possess the necessary powers to join the Witches of Mora, who predict the future and perform ancient rituals (among other preserving the ancient lore of Sith Alchemy). Others train to become Mora Marauders, legendary warriors through out the galaxy. The Mora Maurauders use their Neo-Lightsabers and specially crafted armors to become nearly unstoppable on a battlefield. Neo-Lightsabers The Neo-Lightsabers were made from the remains of former lightsabers found on Korriban, and resemble the ancient Rakatan Forcesabers quite a bit. While a great deal more technology goes into using the weapons, they require a psionic to activate them, and activation overwhelms the user with dark emotions, often sending the wielders into a furious and unrelenting frenzy. Marauder Armor The first Marauder Armors (and also the most highly valued) are owned by the various Houses and are considered great artifacts, and are in reality just Sith Armors, but the more modern takes on Marauder armor is made from Tuk'ata hides and bones, as these are highly lightsaber resistant. Marauders The Marauders are low-tech psionic warriors who are trained extensively to uphold the strict codes of the Mora order, educated highly and meant to serve as the defenders of the people of Moraband. Their protection comes at a price - namely power. Marauders often rule the tribes and Houses (though not always), because few others are afforded the education and training of the Marauders. The Marauders are a diverse bunch and not much of an "order" following the completion of their training.